Never Alone Again
by CorinnetheAnime
Summary: "I shunned you once and left you alone in your darkness, your hatred, your anger...and it's my fault that you're like this. I am sorry...but now please know that you don't have to be alone, Zarc. I made that mistake once of leaving you alone, on your own...but never again...never again..."


**Hey, I'm back with another FusedShipping one-shot that is actually quite different from the others. BUT I STILL HAVE MY OTHER ONES, SO EXPECT LOTS OF SWEETNESS IN THE FUTURE! Most of this was actually written BEFORE episode 135, but there was some that was written after it...**

 **Anyway, here is a sorta bittersweet (angsty yet heartwarming) one-shot that is totally not gonna get parodied by Donjusticia, AND THAT IS A GUARANTEE! XD It's also sorta my headcanon of why Zarc went crazy...and it will give you feels and/or make you see him in a different light than what the anime portrayed him as.**

 **Not that he ISN'T a villain...but he's in such a unique position in the show that I want to express in this one-shot, and...well, you'll find out. And it will make me cry and sob and weep into my Enoch plushy...**

 **Oh, who am I kidding? I STILL HAVE MY FUSEDSHIPPING FLUFF, SO YEAH! Anyway, long story short, this has been in my mind for a while, so enjoy!**

* * *

 _Ray felt a trail of bile coming up her throat, her eyes widening and her mind becoming numb with shock as the end of another one of "his" duels left the opponent to be carried out on a stretcher. The entire stadium was enveloped in the unholy roars of the audience, clapping, whistling, all praising the victor for giving them a grand show._

 _This wasn't real...it couldn't be. But that leering smile gracing his lips, the crowds cheering wildly, barbarically for more, the sheer tone of violence portrayed in his duels..._

 _And all for what? Entertainment? This isn't entertainment...it's only a carnal show of blood and death. But the crowds soaked in every ounce, every drop of his new "dueling style", and CRAVED for more..._

 _It thoroughly disgusted her. She couldn't even bear to see him like this...as if he was some sort of ringmaster that indulged himself in the crowds' desires. His duels were battles filled with blood and death...duels weren't supposed to be like that at all._

 _And as his best and only friend, she had to confront him about this._

 _She stomped into the back room where he was cleaning up after the fight, away from the nosy paparazzi. "Zarc, what do you think you're DOING?"_

 _The young man turned his head after exiting the grand stage, his ears twitching upon hearing the familiar voice of his best friend, Ray, ringing through the back room._

 _"Oh, hey, Ray!" His golden eyes gleamed as he smiled widely at first, beyond happy to see her again, but his lips dropped instantly upon seeing the dark glare on her face...directed towards him of all people._

 _She was definitely not in a happy mood for some reason, and her gestures indicated that he did something wrong...VERY wrong._

 _But after looking deeper in her eyes...he could also see a cloud of worry..._

 _"What's wrong, Ray?" He asked her with concern, and her glare darkened even more...if that was possible. He was confused; did he ask the wrong question?_

 _"Don't ask me, you KNOW what you did wrong, Zarc," was her reply. Her hand stretched out to the still roaring crowds outside the room, turning his attention to them. "Do you hear them cheering for blood, for violence, for more cruelty, all_ _of which YOU are providing for them?"_

 _He was puzzled for a few moments, pondering on her words and what she meant by them...then a realization dawned upon him. His response was a small, nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, placing his hands in his pockets and rocking his heels back and forth leisurely._

 _"I'm just doing what they want me to do...providing entertainment." His voice gave a cheerful façade, cloaking the subtle undertone of anger underneath, to which Ray didn't notice. "I've always done what I could to please them, and if they want more violence, I say let them! Who am I to deny and refuse giving them what they want?!"_

 _He knew what she meant...but he still didn't see the problem from Ray's perspective. "Do you even hear yourself right now? This isn't right...this isn't YOU, Zarc; you're HURTING people in your duels for the sake of entertainment! You don't see the boundaries, the difference between dueling and...this!"_

 _That caught his full attention. "This? THIS? You got it all wrong, Ra-!"_

 _"You're dueling more violently now, more aggressively! Thanks to that, your opponent in that last duel has suffered some major brain damage and is now in a coma, and he might never recover again!"_

 _"Look, I di-!"_

 _"How can you not see that what you are doing is wrong?!" She nearly screamed out the last part, with burning tears threatening to trail down her cheeks._

 _Wrong...it was all wrong. What he was doing was completely wrong. Dueling wasn't supposed to be violent, ending in blood or...death... What ever happened to the boy she knew, the boy who would always try to bring a smile on her face, the boy who shared her love for the world and their monsters?_

 _Whatever happened to him? The man that stood before her now was a far cry of his former self, nearly unrecognizable from the Zarc she knew. What changed him?_

 _Zarc lowered his head at her last statement, his silver-and-green bangs shadowing his face and eyes from view and hiding his confliction from her inspecting glare._

 _"Is that all you came here for, Ray?" Zarc growled, gritting his teeth. "To berate me on giving the people what they want? To chide and complain about making them happy?"_

 _He turned his head back to the crowds, and Ray was quick to notice that his smile was too wide to be genuine...or real. It wasn't like the insane smirks he would usually sport in his battles, but rather...it was more forced, as if he was putting up a façade of happiness._

 _"Don't you hear them? They are cheering...for me. It's their voice...against yours, apparently."_

 _But...what if he was?_

 _"I just wanted to please them...make them happy. I just wanted them...to accept me."_

 _She scrunched her brow in confusion; what did he mean by having them "accept" him? Did he mean the cheering, the praise, or fulfilling their sickening desires for gruesome fights?_

 _"What are you talking about?"_

 _He answered those questions for her, and the sudden change of tone in his voice was unnerving, how it slowly grew deeper and more bitter as his entertainer persona slowly started to fall apart at the seams. "You know what I mean, that I've always been different from everyone else...I just knew it. There were strange occurrences, supernatural occurrences whenever I was around. I somehow could hear the voices of the spirits, of the duel monsters. I'_ _m hearing them now...they're all crying out in pain, they're calling out to me for help...pleading to be free from this pain. They're getting slaughtered again and again in battle, an endless torture to them for the pleasure of those evil humans..."_

 _His intentions were revealed as he called their race out with venom, and she couldn't have been more shocked. But there was something else in his words that caught her attention..._

 _"The voices of the duel monsters..." Her eyes widened at what he was referring to...and he wasn't the only one. She often heard the cries and screams of the spirits in the arena, and it pained her to see them, to hear them as they were torn apart again and again...especially in Zarc's fights._

 _She heard the roars of his monsters multiple times...and they were terrifying. Zarc caught her thoughtful stare and nodded slowly._

 _"You can hear them too, so you then know why I'm doing this." She cocked her head._

 _"But your duels...you're only bringing them pain as well. What do you hope to achieve from this?" He narrowed his eyes, giving a harsh, unyielding stare at her._

 _"I never mean to hurt them, and they all know that...but everyone else is different; they don't care about their monsters or even know of the pain that they're inflicting onto them! Ever since your father invented that Real Solid Vision system, every battle has been nothing but death row for them!" Zarc snarled, and his eyes flashed with anger, making Ray nearly step back, surprised at the sudden change in his demeanor. "I do what I can to appease the crowds, but I know that the spirits are paying for it with their lives day after day... Their cries...ca_ _n't you hear them too? Their pain, their anguish, their screams?! I can...and it hurts. It...hurts..."_

 _She looked down, knowing exactly what he meant. "I can...but, then...why are you doing this? Why take their anger out on your opponents? You can't justify hurting a human..."_

 _He closed his eyes, sighing deeply as if carrying a heavy burden. "I thought you would see my intentions...that I must help them, but I guess you don't. Besides...I never really belonged with the human world anyway."_

* * *

Academia was falling into ruin. Most of the students fled in terror as the main towers and buildings shook from the cracks and earthquakes that weakened their structures. The stormy gales in the blackened sky ripped through the bricks and, lightning struck both sea and earth repeatedly.

But even with the terrifying weather catastrophes that occurred on the outside, there was an even worse storm that thundered from inside the walls of the castle...the thundering being the roar of an angered draconic god.

A god who was out for blood for revenge...and whose resurrection was inevitable. The mere presence of its omnipotent power left earth-shattering tremors that wracked through all of nature and existence, extending well beyond the four dimensions and into the core of the universe itself.

Heaven and earth both quaked in great fear of the inevitable evil that had risen from the grave. The Supreme King Dragon Z-Arc...had awakened from its slumber for good.

Leo and Reiji watched with awestruck and horror as the ancient foe that had torn the Original Dimension apart with its power slowly rose to its hindquarters, its hideous golden eyes blazing with hellfire and wrath. It roared ceaselessly, endlessly, and the power of its darkness thrashed against the structures of the main building.

The Lancers had all fallen to its sheer power, unable to conquer the all-powerful beast of darkness incarnate. The Supreme King Dragon was too strong, way too strong, having no equal to defeat its unquenchable thirst for destruction and fire.

Well, save for one person.

As the black dragon continue to burn down Academia and then extend its frightening reign to the other dimensions, the human-like counterpart of the destructive entity cackled as well, being insanely pleased with all the chaos he was unleashing.

 _ **"Well, Ray, looks like your little plan to stop me has failed."**_ Zarc snarled as he hovered slowly to the broken ground, his black wings flared out wide and tail swishing back and forth as the Supreme Dragon roared in the distance behind him. _**"Now that I have been revived from the dead, nothing can stop my power!"**_

Said mentioned person lowered her arms after bracing for the hurricane-like winds of the monster's roar, her sharp purple eyes fixated on the demon before her.

 _"As if I would let you destroy this world...Zarc,"_ she snarled in response, standing in line between him and the others, making sure he didn't get to them. _"On the contrary, I knew that my plan to separate you and your dragons was only temporary...but now, this final battle will determine our fate once and for all."_

The demon laughed in a mocking manner, walking towards her in a leisurely stride. _**"Oh, how cute, to think you can actually try and stop me this time, Ray."**_

 _"I don't think I can, I know I can_." Ray retorted, standing firm against him. She bared the four bracelets in her arm again, which quickly grabbed Zarc's full attention, forcing him to quicken his pace.

 _ **"Only you would consider that. You may have defeated me once in the past, Ray, but if you think about using those stupid bracelets again..."**_

And before she could even blink, let alone react, he lunged forward and pinned her to the ground, making sure she couldn't move her legs or arms in protest. He then grabbed her left arm, which held the four bracelets, and squeezed it hard, applying tight pressure in order to break them.

 _ **"...I'll make sure that little mistake of the past is fixed, then."**_

Ray yelped in pain and tried to force his grip off her by squirming and twisting her arm. Leo also cried out in alarm. "DON'T TOUCH MY DAUGHTER, YOU _MONSTER_!"

Zarc, however, laughed loudly in triumph and only squeezed harder, pushing her other arm back with his other clawed hand and wings. _**"It's too late for all of you! MY POWER IS LIMITLESS, AND I WILL CRUSH EVERYTHING THAT STANDS IN MY WAY...starting with little Ray right here!"**_

Ray felt the blood pressure dropping in her limb...

However, the bracelets suddenly glowed in unison, filling the whole room with bright light momentarily, followed by a feminine voice that boomed:

 _"I won't let you win this time either, Zarc!"_

Then, an agonized howl suddenly pierced through the air, and he drew back, clutching his limb that was smoking. She rose to her feet, preparing herself for a hard fight...

He hissed like a snake. _**"You DARE oppose my power, you wretch? Then...I WILL KILL YOU ON THE SPOT!"**_

* * *

 _Ray was astonished at the man's statement. "Zarc, what do you mean by that? I mean...I understand your pain. I can hear them too...but that doesn't mean we're any different from anyone else because of that."_

 _"You're still blind to the truth...we are different. No one else can hear them. No one else can see them. I've been called out as a lunatic many times because of this...gift. And the worse part is...they don't care."_

 _"Zarc, you know that's not true. Not everyone is like that!"_

 _"You're wrong, Ray! Every person I'd ever met in my life all treated me the same, like I was some crazy, insane kid talking to thin air! I tried to explain that I could hear the spirits, that they were suffering, but they all wouldn't listen because they didn't care! They're all the same..."_

 _"But, Zarc..."_

 _"Humans are cruel...they only seek for their own entertainment and pleasure. Anything they deem weird or unnatural, they would treat it as trash, a forbidden pariah in society."_

 _"Just let me explain for a mo-!" He quickly cut her off, the bitterness in his voice growing more prevalent with each question and sentence._

 _"Why else would they do this to the spirits even since the revolutionary upgrade to the Solid Vision system? Force them to fight for their own pleasure and entertainment? Make them suffer and die again and AGAIN countless times for the crowds?"_

 _It was then that his eyes flashed with a strong emotion of anger again, but Ray also caught a brief moment of pain in them, sporting fear of rejection...or loneliness. She understood his implications..._

 _He was angry at the crowds not only because of their mistreatment on the duel monsters...but also because of their mistreatment on him. Realization clicked in her mind; it finally made sense of why his battles were so gruesome and violent, why he wanted attention and praise from the crowds._

 _He didn't want to be shunned or hated anymore, and he wanted to help the monsters...so he decided to fight. B_ _ut his intentions, however ambiguous they were, still didn't make up for his actions; what he was doing was still...wrong! Injuring and hurting his opponents, sending them to the hospital and others to their graves...it was still wrong!_

 _"Zarc, they didn't know that. Did you expect them to know? Look...I know, it's wrong for them to have treated you as they did in the past, and I know that it's not okay for anyone to be alone all their life. But you and your dragons don't have to take your anger and hatred out on them!"_

 _"Again, you're missing the point...I never said that I was alone. I had my monsters, my dragons...they were the only ones who truly accepted me for who I am, who I was."_

 _"Zarc..."_

 _"All the humans rejected me. All the spirits and monsters loved me and accepted me for who I was. What other choice was I to have? What else was I to do?!_ _Humans are the real monsters. They're the ones who are hurting...my family. And I won't let them get away with that!"_ _Zarc scrunched his eyes shut, growing angrier by the second as his golden eyes glared sharply at her._

 _Ray clenched her fists. "But what you're doing is still wrong, and don't try to justify it! I won't stand by and watch anyone get hurt because of you, so I'm begging you...PLEASE stop what you're doing."_

 _"But...I thought you would understand..."_

 _"I do, but this isn't the way..."_

 _"No...I see...you decided to side with the humans." His bangs shadowed his face again, hiding his eyes._

 _Ray waved her hands. "It's not that, but there has to be another wa-!"_

 _He raised his hand, stopping her in her tracks. "I've heard you loud and clear and I don't need any more from you. You're just like everyone else...always going against me in some way! You never cared..." his shoulders shook, and Ray couldn't tell if it was from rage or sorrow, "Well, if you're gonna side with them than see what they're truly doing to us, to me...then just go away and join the crowds!"_

 _She couldn't believe her ears._ _"But, Zar-!"_

 _"GO!"_ _He turned his back away from her, crossing his arms. Ray was conflicted, wanting to help her friend but also unsure of whether he even wanted her help anymore. His last statement made it clear; he was hurt by her lack of support, and he was not going to change his ways anytime in the future._

 _"Pleas-!"_

 _"GO AWAY!"_

 _She stretched her arm out to his shoulder...but then stopped herself. He had made up his mind, and she hers. She tried to show him the light, but he was already too far deep inside the darkness of his own hatred and desires of revenge. If he wanted her to leave him alone...then she would. She tried to reason, but his ears were blocked off..._

 _So why should she even continue to try?_

 _"Fine...if that is what you want." She pulled back her outstretched limb and started to walk away, peering over her shoulder to him one last time to give him a warning. "You are right about one thing."_

 _"And what would that be?" She flinched at the harsh tone, not that he had noticed._

 _"It is my voice against theirs, my voice of reason and offer of friendship against theirs of more blood and carnage. You made your choice, and you chose them. So I hope you enjoy all the attention and glory that you've so richly deserved and desired, and one day...I hope that you also see the consequences of that choice as well."_

 _"IS that all from you?" His question was sharp and demanding, and she knew that he wanted her out._

 _"Yes. Goodbye, Zarc...I hope you're happy with your choice." And she walked off and out of the room, a single tear trailing down her cheek as she left him to his thoughts, unknowingly setting his path to go downward towards destruction._

 _He did look back after a moment of silence, but she was gone by then._

* * *

The battle between the two continued onward, the fate of the worlds being at stake. Darkness clashed against light and vice versa, with neither one overpowering the other. Their fight imparted throes on the dimensions, and their power threatened to destroy everything.

Which was the last thing that Ray wanted. Zarc attacked her viciously, and it was taking every ounce of her strength to fight back, but the worlds were suffering because of it. She had to end this fight fast...before both heaven and earth came tumbling down around them.

A quick flash of her bracelets sent the demon screeching back, and he hissed in pain, his body steaming from being burned of the devices' light. _**"THOSE WRETCHED...I WILL KILL YOU!"**_

Ray looked down briefly at her arm; she defeated him once before with the bracelets, but their power would only split them up again. That left a chance for them to be revived again in the future, and the worlds would be thrown into chaos again. It would be an endless cycle of light and darkness between them, a dangerous one at that...

Unless there was another way to defeat him. But how else could she stop the Supreme King Dragon?

He roared and lashed forward...and her eyes widened upon realization as she heard voices, the voices of both the angry monsters that wanted to destroy everything...as well as those who want to fight and protect the material plane.

They were calling to her...

 _I see your reason for what you said back then...there is another way..._

She stretched open her arms as he bared his claws...

 _You were alone and torn between helping the spirits and the humans. The two worlds were at war with each other and you picked your side...but that was then. Things have changed..._

And before he could register or protest, she wrapped her arms around him, keeping him close to herself as his bracelets gave a bright glow. His eyes widened at both the unexpected gesture and the pain that coursed through his body from the light...

 _"We don't have to fight anymore..."_

 _ **"LET GO OF ME!"**_

 _"No...I'm not making that same mistake of leaving you again."_ He stiffened.

 _ **"What sort of trick is this?! LET GO OF ME!"** _ He scratched and clawed at her, but her grip stayed strong. He pulled away and flapped his wings, but she refused to budge, and the power of her bracelets started to take a toll on him.

 _"No, never again...I am not leaving you again."_ She looked deep into his angered red eyes, taking in all of his wrath and hatred for her, for the entire world, and nearly breaking down because of it. _"I left you once in the past when you needed me the most, and it's my fault that you are now like this. I was your friend, and I shunned you like the rest of the world did...but not anymore."_

 ** _"YOU'VE MADE YOUR CHOICE, AND NOW YOU WILL PAY THE CONSEQUENCES FOR IT! LET ME GO!"_**

His words left a familiar impact, and she remembered that it was the same statement that she gave him back then. _"I already did...and I'm not making it again. I am not leaving you to be alone..."  
_

It was then, in that brief moment, in the blink of an eye...she noticed his eyes shifting from their unnatural crimson to a warm and familiar yet glowing golden color.

 ** _"RAY!"_** Zarc howled in agony as the light slowly overwhelmed both him and her. She only hugged him tighter, feeling her presence leaving the material world...

 _"Never again..."_ And in her heart, in the deep crevasses of her soul, she could see him smile in his old form and then embrace her as the darkness around them dissipated, as if everything that had transcribed between them, every argument, every fight, every transformation...was nothing but a bad dream. They weren't alone...they had each other.

 _"Never...again..."_

Things were changing...that was for sure. Ray closed her eyes and smiled in their last moments together, feeling her spirit being tugged again from her body...

 _"I will forever be by your side as a friend...and you will never be alone, Zarc."_ The light soon enveloped them completely and their vision faded to white, but not before she heard his ethereal voice ringing in her mind...

 _"Thank you, Ray..."_

* * *

 **Yeah...this is...yeah, not even gonna say anything. Nope, not a thing... :3 E** **xcept that I love Zarc. Somehow, I have this thing of making villains have more sympathetic motives...and it is HEARTWRENCHING. DONNY, I DARE YOU TO JUST TRY AND PARODY THIS! XD**

 **Anyway, read, review, do whatever you like! And till next time, this is CTA out! AND GOD IS SO GRACIOUS! AND MERRY CHRISTMAS! :D**


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